State Deploys 500K Gallons of Fuel in South Florida as Problems Persist Days After Flooding

 

South Florida drivers were still encountering long lines and empty pumps days after historic flooding led to disruptions in fuel distribution, as state officials said they were deploying half a million gallons of gas to stations in the area.

At the Costco in northwest Miami-Dade Tuesday, a long line of cars stretched down the road as drivers tried to fill their tanks.

With 18 pumps and both regular and premium fuel in stock, one driver said the wait was only around 15 minutes, while another said it was around 30 minutes.

But that wasn't the case for other drivers, who said they visited several gas stations in search of fuel.

One driver said after striking out several times, he waited a full hour to fill up and his only option was the more expensive premium option.

"It's been really hard. I left work, I went to like six gas stations and neither of them had," he said. "Just premium, that's it. I had to, I was on empty. I couldn't get to work on time."

Some portions of Fort Lauderdale experienced more than 25 inches of rain in just one 24-hour period last week, a record-breaking rainfall amount that left flooding damage to private petroleum companies at Port Everglades.

"The tank systems are fully intact. It’s just the pumping systems that don’t allow to go from the tanks to the rack," port director Jonathan Daniels said Monday.

Officials at Port Everglades said there's no shortage in the supply of fuel, but the problem is in the distribution.

In a statement Tuesday, port officials said more petroleum companies opened overnight and the majority were operating.

"The flow of fuel from Port Everglades can be seen at area stations as truck drivers work around the clock to resupply gas and diesel. Consumers may continue to experience delays and extended wait times," the statement read, in part. "Fuel ships continue to make deliveries to Port Everglades, which has helped retain ample supplies of all petroleum products coming into South Florida."

"We have seen additional terminal capacity come back online over the last 24 hours. We're not up to 100 percent but we're certainly making progress, we're seeing progress within the terminals," Daniels said. "Until we get back to 100 percent capacity and that's then allowing each of the terminals to do a full spectrum of products, it's just going to take some time, people need to be patient and understand that they may have to search for a station or two to get fuel. We ask people not to panic, not to panic buy."